Underdogs have done quite well in this four-team event, going 8-9 straight up and 12-5 against the spread since the event was introduced in 2011.

The Champions Classic is often a good early-season indicator of which of the four college basketball blue bloods in attendance have a chance to be elite. The games can reset narratives — remember Zion Williamson’s explosion onto the scene in 2018 or Kentucky making Bill Self wish he could turn water to vodka in 2014?

What did the media think of Kentucky basketball’s 77-72 victory over the Duke Blue Devils on Tuesday in the Champions Classic? Some links: Four takeaways from Duke’s nail-biting loss to Kentucky, from Steve Wiseman of the Raleigh News and Observer.